Snuggled in a residential neighborhood in Lower Nob Hill near Union Square in San Francisco, Hotel Carlton offers its guests an eclectic atmosphere, international ambience, outstanding service and an eco-friendly attitude. As a certified green business, Hotel Carlton strives to incorporate sustainability into all core business operations.

The hotel’s makes every effort to conserve energy, water and natural resources through measures like installing low-flow water fixtures and energy efficient light bulbs throughout the hotel and using Energy Star rated appliances and office equipment. The hotel also has solar panels on the roof that provide 8-10% of the total electrical load for the building.

Beginning in 2007, Hotel Carlton took the additional step to offset its remaining annual operational carbon footprint with Carbonfund.org. Each year, Hotel Carlton calculates its annual electricity and heating fuel usage, its employee commuting and business travel emissions, then makes a donation to Carbonfund.org to neutralize those emissions by purchasing a corresponding quantity of carbon credits produced by one of our third-party verified and validated carbon offsetting projects. To date, Hotel Carlton has neutralized over 4 million pounds of carbon emissions, equivalent to the emissions produced by driving over 4.3 million miles in a typical passenger car.

Hotel Carlton also strives to increase waste diversion by using paper products with recycled content, and by recycling all paper, bottles, and cans and composting all food and landscape waste. The hotel purchases environmentally friendly products to minimize the use of toxic materials to protect employee and guest health as well as the environment.

Hotel Carlton was constructed on the tip of one of San Francisco’s few chunks of bedrock. The hotel was designed as one of the nation’s very first buildings specifically constructed to withstand earthquakes. This proved to be beneficial in 1989 immediately after the big 7.1 earthquake. Hotel Carlton ended up with just one broken window along with some very superficial plaster cracks.

Hotel Carlton’s décor is inspired by travels from around the world, in particular Nepal, India and Morocco. The lobby is reminiscent of a cozy living room with a roaring fireplace, beautiful Indian accent rugs, and comfortable sofas and armchairs. These elegant and cozy touches underscore the hotel’s commitment to superior guest experiences, and the environmental commitment ensures that the hotel remains a leader in the sustainable hospitality industry.